Waymo-Toyota Deal Distances Itself From Tesla’s Autopilot Controversies, ‘Committed to a Zero-Accident Society’

Key Takeaways

• Waymo and Toyota have reached a preliminary agreement to collaborate on autonomous driving technologies.
• The two companies emphasized a focus on safety and preventing accidents.
• Incidents involving Tesla’s Autopilot and similar systems have prompted regulators to rein in self-driving claims.

By removing human error, autonomous driving systems have the potential to create safer roads. But given a string of traffic accidents involving autonomous systems like Tesla’s Autopilot, the technology still has some way to go.

As automakers and robotaxi operators jostle for position in the space, the latest collaboration between Waymo and Toyota claims to deliver a world where self-driving vehicles enhance safety for everyone.

Waymo and Toyota Team Up

In an announcement on Tuesday, April 29, Waymo and Toyota said they have reached a preliminary agreement to collaborate on autonomous driving technologies.

The partnership will focus on personally owned vehicles, and there is currently no indication that Waymo plans to integrate Toyota vehicles into its robotaxi fleet.

Despite developing and testing autonomous driving technology since the 1990s, Toyota has fallen behind Chinese and American rivals in recent years.

But with Tesla’s Autopilot and Xiaomi’s Smart Drive under scrutiny following recent accidents, a renewed focus on safety could give Toyota and Waymo an edge.

Committed to a “Zero-Accident Society”

Commenting on the collaboration with Waymo, Toyota Executive Vice President Hiroki Nakajima emphasized “advancing safety through automated driving technology.”

“Toyota is committed to realizing a society with zero traffic accidents,” he said, adding that the partnership could bring the world “one step closer to a zero-accident society,” he said.

Safety Focus Follows Autopilot Controversies

Since Tesla first launched its Autopilot software in 2014, the platfrom has been involved in a string of road accidents, including several fatalities.

An analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that hundreds of collisions had occurred while drivers had Tesla’s Autopilot and Autosteer engaged.

“Drivers involved in the crashes were not sufficiently engaged in the driving task and that the warnings provided by Autopilot when Autosteer was engaged did not adequately ensure that drivers maintained their attention on the driving task,” the report concludes.

Tesla isn’t the only automaker that has taken heat for not doing enough to keep drivers engaged while using assisted-driving systems.

In March, a collision involving a Xiaomi SU7 in Anhui Province, China, prompted an investigation into the firm’s driving assistance mode, Navigation on Autopilot.

Following the crash, which claimed three lives, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology moved to reign in car makers’ autonomous driving developments.

Under updated rules, automakers are no longer allowed to test and improve their assisted driving systems via remote software updates without approval. They are also prohibited from using the terms “smart” and “autonomous” in promotional materials.